Japan Fashion Week: Barking Mad @ Né-net

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Bam! Pow! Japan Fashion Week began with a punch of color at Né-net’s circus-like show on Monday (see full gallery). File this in the “you know you’re in Japan when” category: a model sporting a Japanese wrestling mask and a hooded black jumpsuit with a rainbow of colored polka dots rode in circles on a giant stuffed mechanical dog in a boxing ring throughout the show. A gymnasium in a former amusement park was an appropriate venue for Né-net’s bright, weird and witty sportswear designs.

It was sensory overload as a parade of models all wearing said Japanese fighter masks, giant flaming hairdos and boxing gloves catwalked to a booming blues-rock soundtrack, displaying a jumble of neon leggings, polka dots, crazy prints, fringed dollar-bill capes and dinosaur-studded hoodies. Does the line have a fighting chance of finding an audience outside of Japan, in the US market? Avant-garde fashion hounds with a wild streak will at least appreciate how barking mad it all is.